Ehnahre: Taming The Cannibals

Released: 2010, Crucial Blast
Rating: 3.0/5

In his book, THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON MUSIC:The Science Of A Human Obsession, Daniel Levitin states that, ‘Music is organized sound’. Well, somehow Ehnahre never got the memo. When they released TAMING THE CANNIBALS, the American trio serves up a big steaming pile of ‘What the hell just happened to my ears?’ condensed into 35 minutes.

Ehnahre throw out conventional music, songwriting and compositions and get waaaay out in left-field. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but you need to have a high tolerance for experimental music to appreciate what these guys are doing. It’s certainly heavy, perhaps classifiable as Death or Black metal (if you must) but certainly avante-garde fits the bill as well. In fact many adjectives could be used to try to describe the almost indescribable. Drone, dome, ambient, experimental, post-Metal all those weird tags critics like to throw around, but it’s saving grave is that at it’s core TAMING THE CANNIBALS is heavy as well.

Drums and vocals dominate both the sound and the mix, both being way upfront. The vocals range from guttural to screams to the occasional clean, for juxtapostion I suppose. There are guitars here but not in your traditional fist-banging, in-yer-face metal riff kinda way. Solos? This is not really the forum for such mundane things.

The half dozen songs clock in at longer lengths and are loaded with sound-effects, samples, violins, trumpets, extended quiet passages and backed with inhuman shrieks from the hearse. The packaging is minimalist but has lyrics which are mostly adapted from various poems. All of these components add to the mystique of the band.

Not an easy, nor even a ‘fun’ listen but challenging compelling and adventurous. Headphone worthy and for fans of bands like Sunn 0))), Shevalreq, Thursar, and Xynfonica this could be the soundtrack to your death.

All Pens Blazing: A Heavy Metal Writers Handbook Volume II

Daniels, Neil
Released: 2010, Indie
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: JP

This is the second book in the series ALL PENS BLAZING. APB is essentially a collection of interviews with Metal journalists about Metal journalism. The popularity and demand for a second book sees Daniels releasing part II. Some of the minor flaws that just slightly marred the first edition have been corrected. The print is much larger and easier to read. The book is a bit bigger, there is a nicer cover, the font is easier to read and the whole thing is just a bit more professional.

Daniels has expanded the scope of the second book. Instead of just authors from England and North America, this time he has interviewed authors from Europe and Australia as well. He has also included authors who specialize in the more melodic genres writing for various webzines and magazines. There were a few more women this time around but it still seems to be a man’s game overall. It was nice to read about Gerri Miller and Amy Sciaretto for example.

The first edition had 65 interviews and Part II added another 69 interviews. Will there be a part three? One can hope! Daniels was kind enough to include me in his book (Interview #69 by virtue of my surname, not my sexual habits) so that’s a good reason to not buy it! Ha! Seriously, chop off that last interview and you have a damn decent book that is mandatory for anyone who wants to write about the rock.

Crystal Viper – Legends

Released: 2010, AFM
Rating: 4.0/5
Reviewer: JP

I’m blown away that none of us (as of Feb 2011) have reviewed a Crystal Viper album. Well, I’m proud and pleased to be the first to introduce some of you readers to this excellent band. Actually that sounds for more egotistical than it should, for you gentle reader, probably all own all the Crystal Viper albums, and we at Metal-Rules have just dropped the ball but not giving this great band their due. I can fix that.

Since it’s the first review of the band on this site a very brief history lesson. Polish band, quartet, formed in 2003, female singer, 3 albums and some bits and pieces, (a bit of an odd discography actually) and true metal. That about sums it up! Actually that’s kinda selling the band short, they have been taking off since the debut in 2007 and have good praise and press around the world.

LEGENDS, despite being a bit of an uninspired album title, will be the album that brings them a wider degree of international attention. I bought debut (CURSE OF THE CRYSTAL VIPER) sometime back and enjoyed it but it wasn’t earth-shattering. However, time experience, touring and a stronger label and a better production have helped LEGENDS be their tour-de-force.

I don’t really like to dwell on gender as issue because it is unimportant what ‘parts’ a musician has but the reality is that Marta Gabriel is the singer. Some people don’t like female vocals in Metal, most of the rest of don’t care. Her voice is a classic metal voice. She doesn’t sing in a classical, soprano style, nor is she a Doro clone but more of a natural female voice with range and power. I think maybe of Lee Aaron and Leather Leone as possible reference points for the actual ‘sound’ of her voice. Her delivery is solid, clear, powerful holding notes and a hint of gruffness as well. Hers is an excellent performance.

The rest of the band, are no slouches either. The boys in the band back her up and all of them have written and recorded a really solid, classic Metal album. It’s very traditional, no tricks, no modern influences, no industrial stuff, no neo-classical warblings, just meat and potatoes Metal. Bands like Crystal Viper live and die on the strength of performance and song-writing. It is a truly crowded and competitive genre and for a new young band to compete with veteran bands like Hammerfall or Jag Panzer (let alone Manowar or Iron Maiden) is an uphill climb. I think the band has what it takes and LEGENDS is a really fun, entertaining album. There is lots here to hold your attention like the awesome gang vocals chorus of the song ‘Night Of The Sin’, the ripping solos all over the place or even the cover of Accept’s ‘TV War’ (nice choice, nice version), all these compoents add to the album.

The lyrics are squarely in the metal camps songs of adventures, heroes and topics that have been done admittedly a thousand times before. However, I prefer escapist lyrics and a story well-told, than so called ‘political lyrics’ which in reality is often some dude whining about American foreign policy. I’ll take ‘Ghost Ship’ and ‘Blood Of The Heroes’ anyday.

Your enjoyment of LEGENDS may correspond to your tolerance for originality. Some value originality very highly, and if you are one of those ‘heard it all before’ people, no problem, look elsewhere. If you are like me and enjoy a well executed, true-to-form metal album with enthusiasm and passion that keeps the true metal flame burning bright, then Crystal Viper is the band for you!

Brutally Deceased – Dead Lovers' Guide

Released: 2010, Lavadome
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: JP

If you are not a student of world history, the nation of the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia) has had some enormous growth and development in the past decade. Joining NATO and the European Union and embracing democracy have all benefited the nation, especially (and most importantly for our purposes) the Metal scene. There has been a huge boom in the quantity and quality of Czech Metal bands in the past decade.

Brutally Deceased are a part of that wave (the NWOCDM? ha! ) are have delivered their debut disc of death. Founded a fee years back this quartet obviously grew up listening to Swedish Death Metal. DEAD LOVERS GUIDE follows the, dare I say, ‘formula’ for Swedish Death Metal. The band do a Dismember cover. The band reference Entombed in the liner notes. The classic buzzsaw guitar tone is immaculate. They have studied the masters well. I’ve never a person who values originality over execution, so the fact they sound just like many other bands doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I do appreciate and enjoy the relentless and crushing old school, Euro death on this album!

It’s a decent disc, with lyrics, liner notes and some live photos housed in a simple black and white package, not elaborate but good enough. The production is good no complaints and, although I might have liked the vocals a little more upfront in the mix, everything is balanced well. The vocals of Zlababa are pretty harsh and guttural and complement the tunes nicely. DEAD LOVERS GUIDE is a classic 33 minutes of brutality. They don’t really let up for one minute. Well executed, well played, well delivered, Brutally Deceased have a lot of potential.

Snakes Eyes: Confessions Of A Replacement Rockstar

Blades, Stacey

Released: 2009, Indie
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: JP

This is the autobiography of Stacey Blades. Who the hell is Stacey Blades you may ask? Well, he is a guitarist. He was in Roxx Gang for almost a decade and is currently in (the fabulous) L.A. Guns.

I have a little bit of a personal connection to this book. I’d heard through the local music community that some famous LA guitarist used to live in Calgary. Now I know who he is. Stacey’s early life has a few similarities to mine. We are about the same age. He grew up in Calgary, Alberta. So did I. We both moved to Toronto. We both used to hang around a killer rock bar called Rock ’n’ Roll Heaven. He was in a band called Fraidy Katt who I actually saw but I didn’t know who he was at the time. That’s where the similarities end. I moved to Vancouver, went to university, got married and got a job. He moved to Florida, joined Roxx Gang and his career took off, he joined L.A. Guns, toured the world five times and now he has written a book and I’m writing a review of a book.

SNAKE EYES falls into the same category as many other independent, self-published autobiographies, like those of Blotzer, Vollmer, and Diesinger. Either you know who they are and care, or you don’t. Well, I happen to like Roxx Gang and L.A. Guns quite a lot, so I was quite curious to read this guys life-story.

Like many of the other autobiographies, this is a little rough around the edges; things like spelling, grammar, syntax, flow and editing are not as high a priority. It’s a standard 225-page book, divided into 13 chapters and quite a few black and white photos. Another interesting feature is that there are quite a few guest quotes about Stacey from friends and family who have contributed a memory or two. It adds flavour to writing.

Stacey is a pretty good storyteller. He writes like people many people speak, informal, casual and full of energy. His life follows a standard tale of early memories, families, vacations, first girl, first guitar, parties etc. It sounds like he had a pretty stable normal life growing up but he got bitten by the rock ‘n’ roll bug early and never lost that drive to succeed.

The story really gets going when he moves to Florida after getting the gig with Roxx Gang. Then we get many chapters of parties, strippers, couch-surfing, drugs, alcohol and all the related elements of the rock and roll lifestyle. Around 2001 he ended up in Los Angeles and ended up replacing Tracii Guns in L.A. Guns around 2003. He has held his position in the band ever since.

There are many stories about traveling, lots of vivid detail written with a compelling enthusiasm. Blades, despite many hardships seems to have had one hell of a ride and seems genuinely grateful for the opportunities afforded him. One part I really, really appreciate is that he doesn’t cut his story short. So many biographies and autobiographies (ie. Anvil, Ozzy, Mustaine) leave out entire decades of recent (post-2000) material, but Blades keeps us going right until 2009. Its current, it’s relevant (for fans anyway) and SNAKE EYES is a great read to get a glimpse into the life or a working professional musician.

Astral Doors: Testament Of Rock - The Best Of Astral Doors

Released: 2011, Metalville
Rating: 3.0/5
Reviewer: JP

We don’t usually spend too much time here at Metal-Rules writing about compilation albums but Astral Doors are a pretty kick-ass band and so this is your public service announcement about the new disc. Besides, these guys don’t get enough appreciation in my estimation.

There is a disadvantage of writing a review based on a promo copy, which is what this review is. These collections can live or die based on the merit of the packaging. Yes, you read correctly, the packaging. Does this collection have a ton of photos, an essay, liner notes, history, a discography? I don’t know! I hope so because these little extras might persuade an Astral Doors fan who already owns the albums to pick up the collection.

So what other incentives are there to check this collection out? Well, assuming you are die-hard Astral Doors fan, not much. There is one new track called Victory and a pair of remixed, re-mastered tracks. Big Deal. This should have been expanded to include the Japanese bonus tracks. I think they have at least 10 Japanese bonus tracks floating around that would have nicely filled out a second disc. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the track sequence.

If you are new to the band this is an excellent starting point with a few tracks from each of the first five albums sampling the best of each. Nils has one of the best voices in Metal in my opinion and if you haven’t heard his work this is your chance. You see, perspective is everything.

Splitting the difference on the score, a poorly executed compilation balanced by 14 world-class cuts of pure Swedish Power Metal... call it a draw, but the one new song tips the scales bumping TESTAMENT OF ROCK from a 2.5 a three out of five. Based solely on the music alone the band crank that rating it to a 4.5 out of five. If you think the band sucks drop the score to a one out of five. Confused yet? Just buy the damn thing.

Assassin – Breaking The Silence

Released: 2011, SPV
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: JP

There was so much thrash in the late 80’s that at times it was hard to truly embrace every band. Assassin was one of those bands I never truly embraced on a personal level. Sure I admired and respected them, two solid albums which I bought and enjoyed but judging from their career arc, many other thrash fans felt the same and the band quietly went away for about 15 years. They put out another low-key, independent, album in 2005 called THE CLUB which went under the radar of most Thrash fans, let alone the few remaining, die-hard Assassin fans out there. I heard THE CLUB, it was adequate but not what I wanted. Judging from the response it wasn’t what other thrashers wanted either. It seems the band have given their head a good shake and here we are six years later and the band is going to have another kick at the can.

The album title, BREAKING THE SILENCE rubs me the wrong way, because of the excellent Heathen album of the same name, but the band really are ‘breaking the half-decade of silence’ with this ten-cut album. The band is back on SPV/Steamhammer and Harris Johns is behind the console, those are two additional bonuses. The album cover is good, (some sort of giant kill-cannon on top of a pile of skulls…very Metal) the song-titles are good and the band has a new rhythm section as well. Even before hearing a single note, all things pointed to a very promising album. However, all those components are secondary to the music, song-writing and performances, and fortunately Assassin have delivered the album of their career.

BREAKING THE SILENCE is my favorite Assassin album to date. For one, I feel they have left behind the little hints of hardcore that was a part of their sound previously. I don’t know why but the band had always reminded me of a lower grade Tankard. Those associations are mostly erased despite the bits of humour in the album. The album is fast, heavy, lots and lots of thrash guitar, moreso than the last few. There is some really top-notch soloing on the cut ‘Judas’. Many of the songs ride along with a simple, punchy one-two thrash beat, nice and fast. The whole albums blurs by in a heartbeat. The vocals are still pretty much the same strained, half-spoken, half-singing style that Robert has always used. In other words…great! I’ve always liked the backing gang-vocals and they are here in full force.

It’s really nice to hear the band able to deliver such a strong album so late in their career and I hope it will be the first of many 80’s thrash bands who are reforming and delivering the thrash it takes to compete with all the young retro bands that they once inspired.